30 Miles New: 1986 Suzuki RG500 Gamma

If you are in the market for a low mile example of one of THE most iconic motorcycles ever built, you'd better read on. This Minnesota-based 1986 Suzuki RG500 Gamma has a reported 30 miles on the clock, and is claimed to be "as new." That is a rare occurrence for a Gamma, as so many of these bikes have been flogged within an inch of their lives, then rebuilt, overbored, heavily modified, and flogged again. I love it when a bike is used as intended, but it can only be "new" once. Check this one out carefully, and then bid accordingly.

28 Comments

Sixthgear

May 14, 2014 9:25:40 am

A very unusual seller and situation for a prime collectable bike like this. A Toyota Scion car dealer with 0 feedbacks- what’s up with that? Did someone trade it in on a RAV4? The description is nothing but a brochure cut and paste- nothing about the bike’s history, maintenance, needs. Does it even currently run? There sure is an untold story here, but will expect it to go north of $30K anyway.

Dan

May 14, 2014 11:00:03 am

Agreed on all counts. Hopefully some more detail will be added to the listing, or if an interested party contacts the seller we get some feedback here.

dc

Tim

May 14, 2014 10:47:49 am

Every time I think I’ve seen it all something like this shows up. And spare parts too. How many like this left in the world? Practical Sportbikes rates the gamma as the closest 2 stroke GP replica ever. Better than the Yamaha.

J

May 14, 2014 1:17:50 pm

If someone wants to pay me a 10% researcher fee, I can drive up there and check it out! HA!

This appears to be an original survivor. It checks out as a 1986 Canadian “G” model RG500 with original tyres and all of the PD paint marks intact and in the correct places. The only thing that has been changed on the bike is the bellypan. It appears to have been replaced with a genuine part though. The new owner will benefit by adding the carb overflow lines to prevent fuel spillage to the new bellypan. These lines were a genuine Suzuki upgrade. Some better hi res photos with plastics off and maybe a vid of the bike running will result in a better outcome for the seller. I wish the seller well and I think it should fetch well over 30k as well.

Roadrash

May 14, 2014 5:59:51 pm

Winner of the worst vehicle marketing job of 2014! Incredibly special and rare situation, but presented like a car dealer who just wants to get rid of this problem old motorcycle that he got stuck with, for as much money and as fast as possible. Doesn’t know anything about motorcycles, and doesn’t want to spend any time learning about this one, either. Just get it out of there fast seems to be the vibe. Conclusion: this Gamma appears to be an amazing one shot situation, but how big a of a chance are you willing to take financially on a seller with zero credibility if you can’t inspect it in person?

jimbo

May 15, 2014 3:51:20 am

This is a real low mile gamma without a doubt? Wonder if its been restored and called new as I have seen others do? Would love to have it. Front blinkers have been changed, it has the JDM style and plugs where the old Canadian blinkers were. The canadian bikes had removable plugs for the jdm style blinkers.

Bob

May 15, 2014 5:16:22 am

Yes Jimbo you are correct. The top bikini fairing is the same as the UK spec. It was a common thing to fit the JDM/AU integrated indicators to the bike. I noticed that as it appears the headlight assembly is fitted slightly askew. The belly has the incorrect plastic push pins and is missing the two screws on either side at the front holding it to the “V” piece. The foam clock surrounds are in VERY good condition and I would suggest has been replaced with an original part – no big deal as this is a common replacement as with the belly. It has probably been stored indoors all of its life as it appears to be in great knick. Having said that it is difficult to tell as there is a lack of hi res photos of the parts that tend to deteriorate. Still a great bike though 🙂

RG Tony

May 16, 2014 12:12:33 pm

Why would a 30 mile Canadian spec Gamma have a JAP nose piece (which they confirm has been cracked and repaired) and replacement lower fairing? I am not getting clear answers from them. Owner not taking calls and communicating through reception. Surely this type of damage does not arise when the bike is just sitting there in climate controlled car dealership. Does anyone else suspect a restoration with replacement speedo?

RG Tony

May 16, 2014 2:01:02 pm

On closer inspection I just noticed the plugs in the nose piece where the signal lights used to be – my bad. Disregard my previous comment. I love it again.

TULLY

May 16, 2014 2:37:38 pm

Email the seller and asked about the “lot of spares” if they went with the bike. Tell me what spares you have. basically he said the bike had aftermarket turn signals, but he had the originals, and the owners manual. The bike looks very “right” in the pictures but if I made this purchase it would have to be in person, to many red flags on the seller on this one.PS: I have RG500 with only 4600KM , I do know what I am looking at regarding the bike.

pete

May 18, 2014 3:43:01 pm

Looking at the replacement parts on this bike makes me also think this is not an original speedometer cluster. this might seem picky but the needles on the gauges should be a darker orange unless it sat in the sun for at least 4 to five years to be that faded, there is a deformation on the foam on the right side that should not be there because the wires are not even close to the foam. The Japanese market upper fairing on a Canadian bike? An aftermarket lower cowling, a non original left side panel under the seat, I was fortunate to have a bike identical to this and for the what it is up to on eBay these issues should at least be explained by the seller. I hope the machine is in pristine condition for the buyer if it does find a new home. Good luck!

pete

May 18, 2014 3:59:13 pm

I had to take another look at this bike. The forks have been polished to get all of the rock chips out. You can see the shiny finish turn to a silver finish near the bottom of the forks. The brake disks have a lot more that 30 miles on them. The gold on the forks has been painted. The bolts on the middle fairing are well weathered from road miles. If you look closely at the fasteners they are not from a bike with 30 miles. This is NOT a 30 mile bike. My bike looked as good as this one when I sold it with 10,000 miles. Buyer beware!

Bob

May 18, 2014 5:09:58 pm

Pete, not saying you are wrong but generally speaking everything has a logical explanation.

The dials on the clocks may appear to be lighter as the photo was taken in full sun. I suggest it is this and possibly the angle the photo was taken from.

Most irregularities and foam distortion was not as a result of something (wires) pressing into it but rather a result of the sun being magnified by the screen and distorting the foam. This was particularly common over the top left hand side of the speedo. The RG500 is renowned for this.

The upper cowling is not actually JDM – it is a hybrid used in the EU. True JDM do not have the holes for stalk indicators. These were and still are sold by Suzuki GB where by they used stalk indicators for UK bikes and integral indicators for the EU bikes. I am uncertain if they were sold to the Canadian market or not. In any case it is not uncommon to replace this part due to the common cracking around the mirrors and fairing brace.

I can`t see why you think the left hand side panel is non original ? Yes the belly has been replaced and is in fact non original as I have previously stated. It is missing the push pins and the original and replacement Suzuki belly`s also had the four holes drilled at the front to secure to the V piece.

Front forks are correct. They all came with the two different finishes from the factory. Slightly rougher from the anti dive unit down to the bottom of the fork leg. I could not zoom in close enough to get a good look at the discs. I am not sure as to what gold on the forks you are referring to that has been repainted ? Do you mean the anti dive or callipers ?

Sure there are parts that have been replaced on this bike and the seller should have offered better pics/video and most certainly a better description (full disclosure) and a history of the bike but I think you may possibly be looking a little too hard to pick things wrong with the bike.

Yes “buyer beware” as is the case with any motor vehicle purchase. I would suspect that the eventual purchaser will have the good sense to view the bike in person to satisfy their curiosity given its rarity. Good luck to buyer and seller.

Pete

May 19, 2014 10:10:14 am

Bob, I agree that you could come up with an explanation for a few of the issues but I think the forks being polished to remove the rock chips is a dead giveaway. If you go to eBay and look closely at the bottom 5 inches of both forks you can clearly see where someone had polished the upper portion and where they had stopped as they approached the bottom. That along with the other issues leads me to believe that either the dealer or the original seller is being very dishonest in the representation of this bike. Either way the losing party will be the purchaser.

Bob

May 19, 2014 6:17:19 pm

Pete, please find the link below to a “new” RG500. This is in fact how they came from the factory.

The forks are correct. I must have at least 20 sets of RG500 forks in my shop and have handled hundreds of them over the last 27 years. The polish is in fact done in a very “production” oriented method, shining them up where it is easily done and neglecting the anti dive area. Any polisher being paid to do a customer’s fork legs would absolutely go all out to justify his pay. Congratulations to the new owner! Now that you have bought a Gamma to look at, you should now consider buying another one to ride!http://www.lancegamma.com

Dan

May 20, 2014 4:55:25 pm

I was wondering when you were going to come around Rick. Good to see you here,

dc

Jeff

May 21, 2014 3:51:10 am

this bike would be in my living room if I bought it. I think 36k is a good buy and money in the bank. congrats to the buyer.

Bob

May 21, 2014 4:16:29 am

Yes, well done to both buyer and seller. Not knocking Rick but original bikes do fetch the big bucks. There is not another person in the world that do better after market conversions than Rick.

mcracr

May 21, 2014 8:22:47 pm

Hard to believe you used to be able to pick up stock RG500 bikes for less than the modded ones, for almost as low as $5000 as little as 10 years ago… Shame to see these bikes sitting and not ridden.

And maybe I should have kept mine stock, instead of a single-sided swingarm/ Spondon frame with a 570 Dent motor that puts most other builds to shame on the dyno and on the track. The rebuild should be complete this summer, then some wear and tear at NJMP and VIR!

Plenty of other ways to skin the RG than down in the Carolinas!

Sean Freeman

May 24, 2014 10:23:40 am

Low mileage stock/standard RG500’s will always command higher values as they’ll be going into private collections. In my humble opinion the RG500 is the last late, great large 2 stroke superbike and hopefully it’ll always command high prices. I know there are some that believe the ‘bubble’ will burst with the RG500 when all the ‘baby boomers’ don’t care anymore. I believe this to be true with some of the 4 stroke collectables of this era but not the RG500. I don’t think we’ll ever see a new 2 stroke on the road again unless its some fancy hybrid wotsit that runs on baked beans and water. ;o) I’m lucky enough to own 2, a Canadian edition Walter Wolf number 93 with 11000 Km’s which I don’t ride as it is completely standard (chastise me if you’d like). I also have a blue/white model with most of the Lance Gamma upgrades that will be ridden hard when Ive completed the upgrades and restoration. Mr Lance its a pleasure to see your comment. :o) Mr Rick Lance or Lance Gamma is incredibly knowledgable about the RG500 and as far as I’m concerned the ‘Gamma Guru’. And no… I’m not on commission…yet. ;o)

jimbo

May 27, 2014 3:22:32 pm

Makes me happy to have a garage full of gammas and parts! I have a 1000KM RG500 all original and no cracks or scratches! I love the RG400 and 500! The RZ500 and NS400R dont compare!

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